The Amazon Manatee lives its whole life in the water. Their number has declined because people hunted them for their meat and their skin. Lately, the Amazon Manatee has also been suffering because its rivers have become polluted.

The Amazon Manatee lives in the Amazon and Essequibo rivers of South America.

The Amazon Manatee loves sea grass and other plants that grow in its rivers. Sometimes, the Amazon Manatee also eats plants and fruits that grow on the shore.

The Amazon Manatee lives its whole life in the water! They are expert divers that can stay under water for up to 14 minutes without coming up for air!

Find out more about the Amazonian Manatee!

The Amazon Manatee is hunted for its meat and skin!
The Amazon Manatee is the smallest of the three types of manatees. Manatees normally live in rivers, but the Dugong (which looks like the Amazon Manatee) lives in the ocean. Like the Dugong and other types of manatee, the biggest reason that the number of Amazon Manatee has declined is hunting by humans. Many Amazon Manatees were caught for their high-quality meat and their strong skin.

The rivers are becoming more and more polluted.
In 1974, hunting of the Amazon Manatee was outlawed, but the Amazon Manatee is still in trouble because of people who ignore this rule and poach it. Also, problems such as heavy deforestation and gold mining are causing the habitat of the Amazon Manatee to get worse and worse. Even though the Amazon Manatee is a protected animal, its numbers continue to decline. If the current situation continues, the Amazon Manatee may become extinct.